Car-coupling



J. P. MAGER.

GAR COUPLING.

(N0 Modal.)

Patented Apr. 3, 1888.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFMJEO JACOB FREDERICK MAGEB, OF ALLENDALE,ILLlNOlS.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 380,399, dated April 3,1838.

Application filed October 6, 1887. Serial No. 251,640. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JACOB FREDERICK MAGER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Allendale, in the county of Wabash and State ofIllinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Oar-Couplings,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in car-couplings; and it has forits objects the provision of a car-coupling which shall be simple andcheap in construction and positive in operation, the parts of which willbe capable of ready replacement when they become worn or broken.

A further object of the invention is to produce a mechanism foroperating a car-coupling which can be readily and conveniently at tachedto cars provided with the ordinary means of coupling.

A further object is to produce a carcoupling capable of securelycoupling cars upon their coming together without the intervention of ahand at the time of meeting, thereby obviating all danger of accidentsto persons employed in coupling cars; and, finally, it is my object toproduce a car-coupling which will permit the operation of an uncouplingto be performed in an effective manner from either side of the car orfrom the plat-form thereof.

With these objects in view my invention consists, essentially, in aoancoupling having a couplingpin, operatinglevers mounted on suitablebrackets at the end of the car, the inner ends of the operating-leversbeing connected to the coupling-pin bylinks, and guards in which theouter ends of the operating-levers move, said guards being provided withsmall shoulders or projections, whereby the outer ends of theoperating-levers may be engaged when the coupling-pin is raisedpreparatory to coupling; furthermore, in a car-coupling consisting in acoupling-pin having its upper end provided with a ring having a groovein the top, the operating-levers mounted on suitable bearings and havingrings at their inner ends provided with transverse grooves in the uppersides similar to the groove in the ring on the coupling-pin, and theguards in which the outer ends of the levers operate, and, finally, invarious novel details of construction and arrangement hereinafter morefully described, and specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like letters of reference denotecorresponding parts in the different views, Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of the improved coupling attached to the end of a car and showingthe outer ends of the operatinglcvers depressed and engaged by theshoulders. Fig. 2 is a detail view of the coupling-pin. Fig. 3 is a.detail View of one of the links which connect the inner ends of thelevers to the coupling- Referring by letter to the drawings, Adesignates the draw-head, which is attached in the ordinary way to theend of the car, and is provided with a flared outer end or mouth toguide the front end of the approaching link into the link-cavity. Theupper and lower sides of the said draw-head are provided with openings(1 a to receive the coupling-pin.

B designates the coupling-pin of the ordinary shape, the upper endofwhich is provided with a ring, 0, having a transverse groove, D, inthe top, for a purpose to be explained.

E E are brackets bolted to the end of the car and projecting forwardlybeyond the projection or plat-form F on the car, and the extremities ofthe said brackets are provided with spindles GG, screw-threaded at theouter ends to receive the nuts H H.

I I represent levers which are mounted at approximately their centralpoints on thesaid spindles G, and they are secured on the spindles bythe nuts H. The inner ends of the operating-levers I are provided withrings or eyes K K, respectively, which eyes are provided at the top withtransverse grooves or notches L L, similar to the grooves or notches inthe upper side of the ring 0.

M M designate links, one or more of which may be used, which connect theeyes on the inner ends of the operating-levers to the ring at the upperend of the couplingpin. The said rings are provided at one side with anopening where the ends of the bar of which the ring is composed do notcome close together, and the said links are designed to be engaged withthe eyes K and ring 0 by passing the thin portions of the said eyes andring (formed by the grooves cut therein) through the openings N in thelinks. It will thus be seen that the inner ends of the operating-leversmay be attached to and detached from the upper end of the coupling-linkat any time by properly passing the reduced portions of the said eyesand ring through the openings in the links; but the said parts cannotbecome detached accidentally, as the notches or grooves and openings inthe links are so arranged as not to easily comeinto the proper positionsto disengage. Inthe first place, the reduced portions of the said eyesand ring are arranged in a transverse or horizontal position, while theopenings in the links are vertical and cannot assume the horizontalposition until the links are turned around,so as to bring the openingsentirely out of alignment with the reduced portions.

0 O designate guards secured to the carbody, which are provided withvertical slots P P, in which the outer ends of the levers I operate, andB B are notches formed in the outer sides of the said slots at thebottom, thus providing the shoulders S S, under which to engage thelevers.

From the foregoing description it will now be readily seen that touncouple two adjoining cars it is only necessary to depress the outerend of one of the operating-levers, and thus draw the coupling-pin outof engagement with the coupling-link. After having thus raised the pinout of engagement, the outer end of the lever may be engaged under theshoulder S, and the pin will thus be suspended over the openings a a inthe draw-head in the coupling position. ljheshouldersSarepreferably madevery shallow, so as to only insecurely engage the levers, and thereforewhen a car comes against the end of the car having the raised pin thejar of meeting is sufficient to disengage the lever from the shoulderand allow the pin to fall into engagement with the coupling-link. Thereis always aslight jar incidental to coupling two cars together, andtherefore this manner of forming an automatic coupling is very reliable.In connection with this it may be said that the bearing in the leverwhich receives the spindle on the end of the bracket E does not fit thesaid spindle tightly, but is sufsecured to the car near the outer endsof the said levers to guide the vertical motion thereof, substantiallyas and for the purpose specified.

2. In a car-coupling, the combination, with the draw-head havingopenings at 11 therein, of the pin B, to fit in thesaidopenings,thebrackets E E, secured to the car and having the spindles G Gon the outer endsthreaded at the extremities, the levers I I, mountedloosely on the said spindles and held in place by nuts H, screwed on theends of the latter, the guards O O, secured to the car near the outerends of the levers and having the slots P to receive and guide themotion of the outer ends of the levers, and the notchesRB in the sidesof the said slots to receive the ends of the levers in the depressedposition, the inner ends of the levers being connected to the upper endof the pin B, all constructed, arranged, and operated substantiallyasand for the purpose specified.

3. In a ear-coupling, the combination, with the draw-head having theopenings a a therein, of the coupling-pin B, having the ringOon theupper end, provided at the top with the transverse groove or notch D,the pivoted levers I, having the eyes K at the inner ends, provided withthe transverse notches or grooves L, and the links M, connecting theeyes K with the ring 0 and having the openings N in the sides thereof,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony that I claim theforegoing as my =own I have hereto affixedmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

JACOB FREDERICK MAOER. Witnesses:

THEO. MOCLAIN, BIRK BUCHANAN.

